Many of us have mixed feelings about the Olympics.
The inevitable razzmatazz may sit uncomfortably while so much about us is changing for the worse. Change that is largley due to economic policies that are widening the income gap, sending unemployment sky high and undermining post-war welfare.
A few years ago I visited the Olympic site when it was still largely under construction. Labour was still in government and Ken Livingstone was the mayor.
The tragedy of innocent children ensnared by conflict and war is captured in many iconic images. Auschwitz, Vietnam, apartheid South Africa and the former Yugoslavia come to my mind.
Child survivors of conflict often carry the awful burden of bearing witness to the detail of genocide.
A picture I saw recently showed a youth band resplendent in new uniforms and shiny instruments with other children in ‘Sunday best’ looking on. Not one of the assembled children was smiling.
In a cowardly move last week Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People issued a written statement on the future of Remploy factories. The Minister was later forced to account in person for this decision as shock waves reverberated across the Remploy workforce.
The coalition is proposing the closure of 36 of Remploy’s 54 factories resulting in 1,752 redundancies, among them 1,518 disabled workers.
As a rule I don’t set my alarm on Sunday. I enjoy listening to the radio and generally moving at a slower pace than normal. Last Sunday started well but rapidly went downhill as I listened to the news.
The top story was a report of Scotland’s most senior Catholic cleric objecting to the possible new right of same sex couples to marry. This outburst precedes a government consultation so I fear there is more nonsense to come about the sanctity of heterosexual marriage.
This blog reflects my personal views and comments about a range of political, social and economic issues. Please feel free to use this opportunity to share your thoughts both about the blogs that I post, as well as other topics that are important to you.
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Although I welcome all kinds of thoughts - supportive, dissenting, critical or otherwise, I will moderate them before publishing. I will therefore delete comments if the content is abusive; off-topic; promotes hate of any kind; uses excessively foul language; is blatantly spam. I hope to do this within 24 to 48 hours of a comment being posted, so please don't be surprised if you find that your comment doesn't show up immediately, However, please contact me to follow up on the status of your comment if it hasn’t shown up after 48 hours and I will do my best to sort it out.
Comments Policy
Although I welcome all kinds of thoughts - supportive, dissenting, critical or otherwise, I will moderate them before publishing. I will therefore delete comments if the content is abusive; off-topic; promotes hate of any kind; uses excessively foul language; is blatantly spam. I hope to do this within 24 to 48 hours of a comment being posted, so please don't be surprised if you find that your comment doesn't show up immediately, However, please contact me to follow up on the status of your comment if it hasn’t shown up after 48 hours and I will do my best to sort it out.